


reasons for the sky and the storm

by kerrykins (orphan_account)



Category: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-02 20:39:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16794337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/kerrykins
Summary: ABANDONED STORY, DISCONTINUED. Andora is the daughter of a fisherman and afraid of the sea. One day, she catches something in her net, changing her life completely.





	1. Chapter One

_ “The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.”  _ -Vincent Van Gogh

Andy sighed as she deftly tied her chestnut hair up into a ponytail. 

Her father has been terribly sick all week, but today she had woken up to the sound of wheezing coughs at dawn. He was in no condition to work like that. So that meant she had to go out on that rickety old boat, and catch some fish, instead of just gutting and selling them. Great. She pulled her gloves on with detachment, dread already settling into the pit of her stomach.

She was deathly afraid of the ocean.

Once upon a time, she loved it, and thought that there was nothing in the world that could measure up to its beauty. The way the waves crashed into the shores, foam caressing the sand before retreating, was so soothing, so gentle.

As a child, she’d stomp all over the edge of the shore, leaving so many footprints just to watch the ocean run over them, the indentations in the wet sand fading instantaneously. It was magical, and even at age twenty-five Andy was still totally entranced by it, though definitely a little more wary.

The small port town of she lived in had once been infamous for its impressive tsunamis. 

For as long as the oldest fisherman could remember, every five years, on the first Monday of February, a powerful storm would hit. According to the townsfolk, towering peaks of the glimmering water would come crashing over the the buildings, water cascading off the shingled roofs of cottages. Young Andy was enthralled by all the tales she heard.

Andy had only seen it once herself, and barely remembered it. It had been on her fifth birthday. Her first and last tsunami. Her father refused to let her outside, so instead she had pressed her face to the fogged windows and peered out. Little Andy’s jaw dropped when she saw what was there.

At first, she thought the massive walls of darkness were mountains, but then she realised with a jolt that they were actually the waves of the tsunami, completely engulfing the town. 

But they didn’t shine in that array of soft, delicate colours that Andy had seen on the beach. No, these powerful waves blocked the light, and reminded her of dragons that had come to devour the place she called home. Like the mythical beasts, they were breathtakingly gorgeous, but deadly. 

The damage they left behind was incomprehensible for young Andy to understand at the time, half the town ravaged, and more than a few neighbours missing.

After the storm, she went to the beach, kneeling at the waves, which sparkled invitingly as if greeting her. Staring at the waves intently, Andy had asked, “Why did you do that?”

There had been no response of course, but young Andy continued, shifting uneasily away from the water’s edge. “You hurt my town, my friends!” The young girl cried out, kicking a bit of sand at the sea. “Please don’t ever do that again! I love you, ocean, you’re my best friend, but this was really mean.” Silence followed, and Andy shook her head, brown eyes brimming with tears as she headed back home.

It had been so long ago that Andy didn’t really notice that ever since then, there had not been a single tsunami in Mercullius Harbour.

Andy wiped sweat off her brow once she had hauled a net filled with fish onto her boat. She was almost done. The young woman glanced at the water apprehensively. Everything was going to be fine. Just one more catch, and she’d be safe on the shore again. 

She tossed a net into the water and waited. No fish came. Andy frowned. Where did they all go? This area was always swarming with them, and she had just caught a bunch.  _ They’ll come eventually, _ she assured herself.  _ An hour won’t kill you.  _

Two hours passed, and Andy checked the net. Nothing. She groaned. The sky was bright red now, and it wouldn’t be long until it was dark.  _ Hurry up now, fish, _ Andy thought nervously, fidgeting with a bit of rope.

Another hour came and gone. Andy was officially freaking out now. The sun was starting to set, the golden sky fading into dark blue, only a few sparse white clouds still dotting the sky. A handful of silver stars were scattered across the wide expanse of blue.

She suddenly felt the boat rock a bit, and bolted up, relief settling in. It was something big! 

The brunette grinned, and tried to pull the net up. Whatever she had caught, it was really heavy. Grunting with effort, she finally managed to haul it into her boat with a gasp, raising a fist to the air in victory when she succeeded. 

The fish immediately began to flop around, and Andy decided to postpone her celebration for a bit. She hadn’t even identified what it was yet. From the looks of it, it was possibly a tuna.

Andy hummed as she sliced open the net with a knife, the coils of rope falling to the bottom of the boat. When she looked up from her handiwork at the fish, she let out a yelp of terror and stumbled back, knife held out in front of her. Holy crap, what the hell was that??

With trembling hands, she pointed the knife at the creature in front of her, her heart pounding. Oh god.

Icy blue eyes glared at her, one eyebrow arched. There was a shock of snow-white hair that curled over its forehead, and even in the dark, Andy could make out the sharpness of its cheekbones, and the way its skin glowed ethereally pale.

It looked human from the waist up, but where there should be legs, there was a tail. Crescent scales of silver and blue glinted in the moonlight. Andy resisted the urge to run her hands along that elegant tail, to take it in her hands and examine it. 

“Do you mind explaining to me why I’m in this boat instead of the water?” The creature drawled sourly, sounding irritated but nowhere close to scared. If she was, she hid it well.  _ It, not she _ , Andy reminded herself. The brunette was prepared to calmly and concisely explain that she was just a fisherman, and had caught her accidentally. 

Instead, she stammered like an idiot. “I- You were in my net, so I... I was just fishing-- Sorry.” Andy choked that last word out, and the creature looked unimpressed with her answer, lips pursing in displeasure. “Hm. You certainly have a way with words. What is your name?”

“Andy,” she blurted, before regretting it. The creature grimaced, as if it was disgusted. “It’s a-actually Andora,” Andy added fervently. “But everyone calls me Andy.”

“Andora,” the creature purred her name, nodding in approval. A chill ran down Andy’s spine. No one had ever said her name like that, rolling so much emphasis on the last syllable. “That’s much better.” 

There was silence, and the creature let out a tired sigh. The brunette realised that she did not know the name of this mysterious creature she’d pulled from the sea. Was it a siren? Did sirens even have names? Was the siren going to kill her? Or was that just with male sailors?

“What do people call you?” Andy inquired, forcing her voice to sound cheerful despite the unpleasant thoughts drifting around her mind.

The creature flicked her tail at her detachedly, splattering Andy with cold water droplets. “Queen Myranda, of Mirstone.” There was a pause between her name and where she came from. Myranda. That was a beautiful name, and it suited the creature perfectly. And she was a queen? Of what? Mirstone?

“So are you a siren?” Andy was tempted to ask her if she was going to push her off the boat and let her drown, but decided it was best not to give her any ideas. The creature looked insulted, scowling at her. “No. I am a mermaid. There’s a difference between the two, Andora. We don’t waste our time sunbathing, getting involved in mortal affairs.”

Oh. Andy felt stupid that she didn’t know that, even though there was no way she could have. Mermaids were highly elusive, kept to themselves, and were rarely seen. There were no exciting stories about them dragging men into the sea, and feasting on their flesh.

“Okay, that makes sense. But are you really a queen?” The mermaid bristled at this. “Yes, really,” she snapped, rolling her eyes. “I wouldn’t have said so if I didn’t--” She trailed off, eyes darting to the bottom on the boat. 

If she didn’t what? Based on the way Myranda’s cheeks glowed pink with embarrassment, she didn’t want to dwell on it. “I believe you then. I’m so sorry I caught you in my net, I didn’t mean to. Is there anyway I can take you back to your- your kingdom?”

The white-haired mermaid looked surprised for a moment, but her expression quickly slid into one of cool composure, shaking her head. “I don’t know where it is. I have never strayed past it, always stayed within the confines of my own kingdom. I am... unfamiliar with this part of the sea.”

Andy bit her lip nervously. “That’s terrible, I wish I could help you get home. Were you already lost when I caught you?” Myranda gave her an icy glare, one that clearly said “stop-talking-or-I’ll-bite-your-head-off.” Alrighty.

“I would capsize your boat if it wasn’t the only thing protecting me,” the mermaid muttered under her breath, staring absently out at the water. She began pulling at the net, wriggling herself free. 

Andy gave her a startled look. The boat part she didn’t mind too much, it was understandable, but what on earth was Myranda hiding from?

“Queen Myranda, if you need a place to stay, I guess you could come to my place,” Andy suggested. She wanted to help Myranda, not only because she was a dangerous mermaid who could probably tear her to pieces, but because of the sudden, inexplicable sorrow that she emanated in that moment.

Myranda narrowed her eyes. “No.” The vehemence behind her answer made the brunette cringe.

“Oh, okay. I mean if that’s what you want then--”

“Never refer to me as Queen Myranda. Myranda will suffice,” she sniffed, lifting the tatters of the rope and casually flinging them behind her. Andy suppressed the urge to dive into the water and retrieve them. “But yes, I think that going ashore would be an acceptable idea.” 

“Great.” Andy couldn’t help but grin. She had no clue how she was going to explain this to her father, but still. Seeing the haughty mermaid in her dilapidated shack would be almost comical. 

To her shock, Myranda quirked her lips, brilliant blue eyes glimmering with mirth. “Mm. This shall certainly be interesting.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not gonna continue this, mainly because i just did it on a whim and actually have no idea what to write next.
> 
> but also because i know someone that's in the middle of writing a different mirandy mermaid au. they're an incredible writer, and will be able to execute it much better than i could.
> 
> i'll be posting more chapters of my other stories though!!!

It took every ounce of Andy’s self-control to not curse in front of Myranda. This was not working out well. Myranda, obviously, couldn’t walk, so the fisherman was carrying her home, bridal style. 

Despite how slender she was, the mermaid weighed quite a lot, it was probably the tail. Or that Andy was just really weak. She had suggested to Myranda that she fetch a cart to push her around in, but the mermaid shut her down fast. Something about salvaging what was left of her pride, but Andy didn’t see how this was any better.

_ At least it’s dark _ , she thought to herself. She couldn’t imagine people’s reactions to her stumbling about the pier, cradling an ornery creature with a huge fish tail. 

Andy froze in her tracks, horrified. Oh god. Crap, her dad, he couldn’t know about this! But how was she supposed to do that when there was a mermaid flopping around their shack?

“Myranda,” she whispered urgently. “My father doesn’t know you’re coming home with me, and I don’t know what to do. He won’t take it as well as I did.” Andy gestured to the mermaid’s tail, and Myranda rolled her eyes. “Considering our initial meeting and how  _ swimmingly _ that went, I think that perhaps it would be best if I didn’t stay in your home, for--”

Andy’s heart pounded. What? No. “We can figure something out,” she said quickly, cutting Myranda off. 

The mermaid raised an eyebrow at her, as if inquiring why she had been so rudely interrupted. Andy wasn’t sure herself why she wanted this mermaid to stay with her, but every part of her screamed at her not let Myranda go. And uh-- it would be dangerous for her to be alone, as she didn’t really know the port well.

She gulped. “I mean-- If you want to go somewhere else, I can’t stop you. Do you have any ideas?”

“... No,” the mermaid admitted reluctantly, looking peeved. She turned away from Andy’s. It didn’t seem like Myranda had many other options then.

“We’ll figure something out later then,” the fisherman sighed. Andy walked in silence for a bit, but she had never been the kind of person who enjoyed the quiet. 

“So what happened, exactly? What’s out there that’s so dangerous that you’ve accepted the offer to come home with me?”

They were in a particularly dark part of town, so Andy couldn’t see Myranda’s face well. But she noticed the slight pause before she spoke. “I can’t tell you that now. Not yet at least.”

The brunette frowned. Did Myranda not trust her or something? That would make sense considering they had just met a couple hours ago, but she was letting Andy carry her. So did she or did she not have faith in her?

“It’s not that I’m distrustful of you,” she murmured, echoing Andy’s thoughts. “I just can’t share that information. In due time, perhaps.”

“Okay sure, take your time then.” Andy desperately wanted to know what had happened, so she could better help Myranda, but if she wasn’t comfortable with talking about it-- that was fine.


End file.
